GOT 'R DONE

I just got home from physical therapy and they have all the little escapees (crystals) back where they belong. For you farmers it is like when the sheep get out of the gate and go into the lane---you can get them back by driving them there or by just giving them enough disturbance to make them want to go home.

These crystals that have been causing me all the grief are in the left ear cochlea. Instead of being at the bottom where they were supposed to be they were near the top of the circular tube. This had my brain thinking the left side of my body was higher than the right side and so it kept trying to compensate to get things level. Hence I was off balance most of the time. I could get along just fine if I concentrated. Problem with that is you shouldn't have to concentrate to walk straight.

I am not sure how long this has gone on but for over a month I knew something was outta whack. I stopped taking all my meds that had dizziness as a side effect and waited for things to get better. They didn't get better but remained about the same so I broke down Tuesday and went to my Doctor. He ran a few tests and told me that I was never easy to diagnose anything on---mostly because I try to work through all of those things thinking the'll just go away on their own. He told me he thought I was having problems with the crystals in my left ear. He showed me what the inner ear looked like and showed me what he thinks is going on with the crystals and then sent me to a physical therapist to try to get the crystals back where they belong.

Wednesday I went to the first treatment and when the physical therapist laid me on the table my eyes started twitching like crazy trying to get level with the world. He did a few motion things to try to get the crystals moving back to the bottom of the canal instead of at the top. When he finished up I felt a lot better and things were pretty stable for the first time in a long time.

I have been thinking about this for a few days and it may have going on for as long as 1 1/2 years. Today I went in for the second treatment and when he laid me on the bed there was no eye reaction at all. He told me that was good and that meant the crystals were back near the bottom where they belonged and could be there already. He took me through another set of the treatment motions and when he finished up I felt really good. He told me that the crystals were where they were supposed to be and that it will take a few days for them to reabsorb but that he thinks we are finished with the therapy.

He told me to keep in touch and if I have trouble with dizziness in the next couple of months to give him a call and he'll do the third treatment but he doesn't think I'll need it. So time will tell but I think I have this one whipped.

By the way he has a sign in his office that says: "IF A MAN IS ALONE IN THE WOODS AND THERE IS NO ONE TO HEAR, IS HE STILL WRONG IF HE SAYS SOMETHING?" I TOLD HIM INKLINGS SAID THE ANSWER TO THAT WAS "DUH!!!!!"

WHAT'S THIS SPINNING IN MY HEAD????

For the last couple of months I have been having a little trouble walking in a straight line but could do it if I concentrated on it. About three weeks ago I got VERTIGO really bad and the whole house seemed to spin around at times. I went to sit on a chair when this was happening and missed the chair completely. I have been taking some medication for high cholesterol that has dizziness as a side effect. When I missed sitting on the chair I quit taking the meds immediately and waited to see if this vertigo went away.

Well I got feeling pretty good about it but I still occasionally had a little spurt of dizziness. Enough that I wouldn't climb on the roof to fix anything there but nothing like what I had the week before. When I rolled over in bed sometimes it felt like the bed started spinning so yesterday I went to see a doctor to see if anything was wrong.

My Doctor gave me several tests and then told me I had some problems with my inner ear. He told me I had some crystals in the cochlea that weren't where they were supposed to be and that was causing my problem. He then sent me to see a physical therapist to get it fixed.

Today I went to see the therapist and it turned out the one I see is the father of one of the little girls Inklings and I teach in Primary. We also taught his son that is a little older. We are always commenting that they are doing something right in their family as their kids are so good. I was pretty comfortable seeing him and went through all the questions he had and told him I had no clue how I got whatever is wrong with me. I have had no bumps, falls or head trauma that I can remember in the last few years.

For the therapy he tested me to see which ear the problem was in by turning my head to the side and holding it still while watching my eyes. When he turned it to the affected side I could feel my eyes flitting all around as well as feeling a little dizzy. He then moved my head around several more times and told me he was trying to move the crystals that are out of place and in my cochlea back to where they are supposed to be. After moving my head several different times into different positions he told me it was looking good and that I would have to come back either 2 or 3 more times so they could be certain they were successful.

Just before I left the treatment room he said "THIS REALLY ISN'T VOODOO IT IS JUST WHAT THEY TEACH US TO DO IN PHYSICAL THERAPY TO FIX THE PROBLEM YOU HAVE---HOPE IT WORKS."

I hope it works too. I really can't remember when the first time I felt dizzy but it has been a long time ago. It'll be good to have this fixed.

THE DEBATE GOES ON

I went to work pretty early in my life and by the time I started working for the Forest Service at the age of 21 I had paid Social Security taxes for 12 years. I then went to work for the Forest Service for 39 years.

I was eligible for Social Security retirement when I got to age 62 even before I ever went to work for the Forest Service because you become eligible to draw the compensation after paying into the fund for 40 quarters. Interestingly after I had worked a little over 20 years for the Forest Service Congress passed the double dip law that significantly reduced the amount of Social Security I would receive when I retired because I would also be getting retirement from the Forest Service.

I retired from the Forest Service at 61 and from Social Security at 62. Due to the double dip law my benefits were cut 77% so the payments from SS are not really that great and it will take 38 years for me to recover the funds that were paid into the fund by me and my employers (99 years old). Because I retired at 62 any earnings over $14,600 are penalized by the Social Security Administration at the rate of $1 for every $2 earned. If you retire at 65 the penalty doesn't kick in until around $36,000 and the penalty is $1 out of $3.

So I chose to retire at 62 and because I made quite a bit more money than the $14,600 so I owe them half of what I made above that figure. So this is where the debate comes in. If I had waited until 65 to start drawing SS then I would have owed them nothing for last year but since I did I owe them this money from the penalty. I really don't care which way it is because they are going to deduct it from my future checks. And I did make the money---and spent it too.

What does that mean???? They are going to stop paying me benefits in April and not pay me any other benefits until March, 2013. THAT'S RIGHT A FULL YEARS BENEFITS. If I had waited until I was 65 to start getting benefits from SS I would owe them nothing. So here is the rest of the story---when they start paying me benefits again I will be awfully close to 65 so I'm going to try to make all the money I can this fire season.

PERHAPS INKLINGS WAS RIGHT---I SHOULDA WAITED UNTIL I WAS 65 TO DRAW ANY BENEFITS. BUT SINCE THEY ARE REDUCED 77% ANYWAY IT DOESN'T MATTER MUCH.